The shadow minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Bambos Charalambous, is with Labour Friends of Israel on a delegation this week – his first visit to the region since his appointment last November. He is being accompanied by LFI chair Steve McCabe. They will also both be speaking Read more…
LFI has today hosted a briefing for parliamentarians on ‘Settlements and Solutions’, as part of our Steps to a Two State Solution campaign. The session, hosted by LFI chair Steve McCabe looked at the building of Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Parliamentarians were Read more…
Naftali Bennett made a dramatic trip to Moscow last weekend to meet with Vladimir Putin as Israel found itself attempting to help mediate an international crisis for the first time. The prime minister’s trip on the Sabbath came as Israel increases its humanitarian aid to Ukraine and began to receive Read more…
At FCDO Questions today, LFI parliamentary supporter Christian Wakeford asked why the UK had played no role in agreeing the Abraham Accords in summer 2020, and called for the UK to be “central to encouraging more of our partners across the Arab world” to normalise ties with Israel, given its historic ties Read more…
Steps to a two state solution: For Israel, for Palestine, for peace Step Thirteen: Support the development of Rawabi The first pre-planned Palestinian city, Rawabi is a $1.4bn development in the West Bank and the brainchild of Palestinian entrepreneur and businessman Bashar Masri. Close to Ramallah, the project has faced Read more…
Israel has seized 30 digital wallets allegedly used by Hamas to fundraise, according to the Israeli Defence Ministry. Defence minister Benny Gantz approved the seizure of the cryptocurrency wallets from 12 accounts, owned by an exchange company based in the Gaza Strip, which has since been declared a terror group Read more…
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has prompted a host of reactions from the Middle East, though few of these have been as unequivocal as in Europe or North America. What happened Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid confirmed on Monday that Israel would vote in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Read more…
A delegation of visiting congressional Democrats expressed their concern over the potential for intercommunal violence in Jerusalem last week, but were assured by senior Israeli officials’ commitment to lowering tensions, according to the Times of Israel. Representative Ro Khanna told the Times of Israel that the delegation was assured that Read more…
Emilie Moatti, Labor MK and head of the Knesset subcommittee on foreign affairs, last week convened a meeting on civil initiatives for advancing cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. “Today is the first of a series of meetings I am planning throughout the year to examine our relations with the Palestinians”, Read more…
Israel and Morocco signed a new bilateral agreement this week aimed at deepening economic ties, expanding trade and developing joint business opportunities. Economy minister Orna Barbivai, who arrived in Morocco in Sunday, said the agreement “is intended to bring about economic growth and prosperity for Israel and Morocco”, as Israel Read more…
Months of talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appear to be reaching a conclusion – despite Tehran’s refusal to negotiate directly with the Biden administration. The news from the Vienna talks – which began in April 2021 but were then paused for months following the election of the Read more…
The creation of the State of Israel is the greatest achievement of the twentieth century, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on a visit to Israel this week. Speaking at the Knesset, Pelosi said that the US was proud to have Israel as an ally and would continue Read more…